This module allows you to define one or more panels that appear on every public and member page of the website (but not admin pages). These panels can be horizontal or vertical and placed anywhere in your website layout, using one of the panels already defined in your layout file. The banner advertising panel can only be placed in a content box that is allowed by your template and layout. If you need a different position, a custom layout will be required for an additional one-time fee.
Advertisers then provide a banner ad in a pre-defined size that is then installed in the system and will then display in the designated panel as pages are viewed.
Activation: The monthly fee for this module is $12/month
Note: You can find Banner Advertising in the Website Tab > Admin Functions.
About Ad Panels
Ad panels can be vertically oriented (for example, in the area under a left side menu) or horizontally oriented (for example, in the area above the page footer.)
Note: Not all panels shown are available for every layout. To see which panels you can use in your current website layout, navigate to Website Tab > Setup > Website Look & Feel and select the Layout option on the Site Editor Toolbar.
Note that a layout should include a horizontal menu or a vertical menu but not both. The left and right edges can include none, one, or two content boxes. Box #8 appears above the standard page footer, which is always at the very bottom.
You should determine the size you want for each ad and then ensure that every image provided by an advertiser or sponsor matches that size. A typical size for vertically oriented ads is 150px wide by 600px high. A typical size for horizontally oriented ads is 600px wide by 150px high.
You can also have more than one ad panel in an area; the default size would then be adjusted to ensure that there is room for the panels to sit side-by-side or one above the other.
Ads are displayed at random based on the number of ads uploaded to an ad panel. One way to control display frequency is to have more than one ad panel. The first panel could have a small number of ads so each one is displayed more often; let’s call these the “gold” sponsors. The second panel could have more ads so each one is displayed less often; let’s call these the “silver” sponsors.
You also have the ability to determine panels displayed for specific custom pages. You may choose to do this based on the content of the page and content of ads, or based on the layout of your page.
Managing Panels
Note: For clubs with existing banner ads, those content boxes have been converted to panels. The content boxes are titled "Converted Content Box X", with "X" referring to the panel position. To remove ads from a Converted Content Box, select the Edit icon. In the Advanced Content Editor you will see a widget titled Advertisement. Right click the widget and select the Delete option.
Select Banner Advertising to navigate to the Banner Ads Manager screen.
The screen contains a grid listing all panels currently being used on your website, whether or not the panels are active. The grid contains:
- Panel Title - The panel title is for administrative purposes only and configured when a new panel is added. Common content boxes used for banner ads are titled "Converted Content Box X", with "X" referring to the panel position. Select the Edit icon to edit the name of the panel.
- Ad Count - the number of active ads displaying in the panel. This number does not include inactive ads stored in the panel. To add additional ads, or edit existing ads, select the Manage Advertisements icon.
- Active - whether or not the panel is an active panel displaying ads. To change the status of a panel, select the Edit icon.
- Maintain Column - The options in the Maintain Column are:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 (Edit) |
Select the Edit icon to edit the name of a panel and change the status (Active or Inactive). |
 (Manage Advertisements) |
Select the Manage Advertisements icon to manage the individual ads displayed within the panels. |
Note: To delete a panel, you must delete all ads within the panel first.
The buttons at the top of the screen allow you to add additional ad panels and run reports on the number of clicks advertisements receive.
Adding a Panel
Select the Add Panel button to add an ad panel.
In the Add/Edit Advertising Panel popup, you will see an automatically assigned panel number. Any newly created panels will follow the sequence of panels not being used.
Example: If you currently are using ad panels 1, 2, 4 and 7, the next new panel will be #3.
Enter the title of the panel. The title is for administrative purposes only. Finally, determine whether the panel is active by checking the Active box. Active panels will display ads on your website. Deactivating a panel will not delete the ads contained in that panel, the panel simply will not display on your website.
Adding an Advertisement
Select the Manage Advertisements icon in the Maintain Column to view the Manage Panel Advertisements screen.
The screen contains a grid listing all advertisements in the panel, whether or not the ads are active. The grid includes the:
- Title - The title of the individual ad on the panel. This title is for administrative purposes only. Select the Edit icon to edit the title.
- Active - Whether or not the ad is active within the panel. An active ad will display as long as the panel is also active. To change the status of a panel, select the Edit icon.
- URL - The URL a user navigates to by clicking the ad.
- Maintain Column - The options in the maintain column are:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
|
(Edit) |
Select the Edit icon to edit any property of the advertisement, including title, status, URL and the image used for the ad. |
 (View) |
Select the View icon to view the ad. |
 (Delete) |
Select the Delete icon to delete an ad from the panel. |
Select the Add Advert button to add a new advertisement to the panel in the Add/Edit Advertisement popup.
Enter the title of the ad. The title is for administrative purposes only. Next, determine whether this ad will be active and display within the panel (if the panel is also active). Enter the URL a user should navigate to when they click on the ad. Finally, select the image to be used for the ad.
Configuring Ads on Custom Pages
When you have enabled Banner Advertising, you will see an additional widget for the module in the list of widgets available in the Page Builder Toolbar.
To configure a panel to be displayed for a custom page, select and drag the widget to the Page Builder Canvas.
In the Cell Tools menu, select the ad panel to display on this page from the list of ad panels created on the Banner Ads Management screen. Ad panels must be configured prior to adding a panel to a custom page. Next, select the display type, either one ad per page load, or scrolling ads. One ad per page load will show the user one ad each time they navigate to a new page on your website. Scrolling ads will display all ads in a scrolling format; when a user hovers over an ad, the scrolling will stop and the user can click on the ad.